Applicant sentiment — from 150 anonymous posts, 2016–2027
7.0 / 10
What anonymous posters said
Anonymous posters frequently grouped this program among a small set of highly regarded dermatology programs, citing strong research output and academic focus. Several commenters described procedural/reconstructive training positively and characterized the culture as supportive with happy residents, while some posts suggested connections or away rotations may help with interview chances.
Match termshosp of the univ of pahuppennpenn dermu of pau pennuniv of pauniversity of pauniversity of pennuniversity of pennsylvaniauniversity of pennsylvania dermupennupenn derm
Penn, Columbia >Mayo has tons of support, UCSD also has robust fertility benefits (I think 20-30k)
Feb 21
0
are fertility benefits mainly egg freezing or do they are include IVF?
Feb 21
0
i think both
Feb 21
0
a handful of programs ive interviewed at have had this. so nice to see!
Feb 21
0
Is there a way to see the fertility specific coverage in a plan or did the programs specifically highlight it as a benefit? would love to know which programs have coverage!
Feb 21
1
2
How are the research track/2 applicants thinking about ranking programs? I was most impressed by UCSF, then Penn/Harvard. New haven seemed bleak but good research. Going to be a tough cycle with how many apps there are this year and limited number of spots
I know a Derm influencer who scored >270 on step 2 she is a nice person >I know who you're talking about with the 232 step and don't be rude. like they are going out of their way to help you with advice and give back and instead of appreciating the fact that they're open about their score, you're trashtalking them? literally you stfu
Feb 21
0
imagine hating from outside the club….you can't even get in < love it young breezy> wtf which derm resident matched with a 232?!?!
Feb 21
0
nabeel
Feb 21
0
Penn State residency cares if you are a nice, hardworking person. another example of how board scores arent EVERYTHING
Feb 21
0
did he rotate there
Feb 21
0
idk
Feb 21
0
I'm having a hard time believing this is true. and if he got a 232 that would invalidate a lot of the advice he gives because clearly something else is going on to have caused him to match.
Feb 21
0
he has said he had a low step in his advice, he triple applied derm, peds, med peds bc of it
Feb 21
0
he also posted on reddit that he got into the 230s
Feb 21
0
im sitting on derm 5 IVs with 230s step 2 and haven't been asked once about it at any interview 😅 obviously dual applied, but step score isn't everything
Feb 21
0
What's with the rave about influencers? I went into medicine and derm bc I'm passionate about patient care, not because I want attention lol
Feb 21
0
tell that to the PGY1s
Feb 21
0
divingdermdoc lol
Feb 21
0
Nabeel is actually a good one. He's helped a lot of students and shares great content IMO
Feb 21
100
i noticed that the three top influencers that i see on ig are going to penn state
Feb 21
0
he also has a low step
Feb 21
0
you are overrotated on step scores - they're not generally relevant to how good of a derm you become
Feb 21
0
sure, but only after you match. before you match, they're at least somewhat meaningful
Feb 21
0
> why do you all care so much? like live your life and let them live theirs
Feb 21
8
if you're going to be online people will have opinions sooo
Feb 21
0
it's genuinely pathetic to spend any amount of mental effort/energy hating on others for no reason soooo
Feb 21
0
pot... meet kettle...
Feb 21
0
calling people out for being pathetic losers is actually not hating <3
Feb 21
0
name calling is.. not hating..? lol yall nasty
Feb 21
0
It is a little pathetic to hate like this ngl, let them do their thing and you do yours, the fact is there are good and bad influencers and the good ones do help premeds (charging $$ for help is predatory though). so..chillllllll
Feb 21
0
jelly bc theyre making bank (cringe or not money dont lie)>> I can also suck cock on OnlyFans and make more money. Some of us value self respect over $$$
Feb 21
0
this is a cheap comparison. The majority of people barely even make $100 per month on OF.
Feb 21
0
comparing posting on tiktok to OF is SICK. SEEK HELP!
Feb 21
0
tell that to the PGY1s
Mar 7
0
divingdermdoc lol
Mar 7
0
Nabeel is actually a good one. He's helped a lot of students and shares great content IMO
Mar 7
0
i noticed that the three top influencers that i see on ig are going to penn state
Mar 7
0
he also has a low step
Mar 7
0
you are overrotated on step scores - they're not generally relevant to how good of a derm you become
Mar 7
0
sure, but only after you match. before you match, they're at least somewhat meaningful
Mar 7
0
if you're going to be online people will have opinions sooo
Mar 7
0
it's genuinely pathetic to spend any amount of mental effort/energy hating on others for no reason soooo
Mar 7
0
0
I wonder how programs like Penn with multiple tracks end up ranking people... like if they really want someone, will they rank that person high on all the tracks they applied to??? ofc we won't know but just wondering
so if you have derm1+ TY1, followed by derm1 + TY2, etc thats two ranks? and depedning on all the iterations its easy to get past 20 ranks?
Feb 21
0
oh goodness i have no idea what's going on
Feb 21
0
no. Each derm rank counts as its own mini "rank list". Let's say Penn is your number one derm program. You would rank Penn + TY 1, Penn + Ty2, and Penn + TY 3, as your "number one". It's like having your ranks as 1.1, 1.2, 1.3. I hope this makes sense? It's hard to put it into words
Feb 21
0
yes!! that makes sense thank you!
Feb 21
0
sure thing! your prelim/TY rank list can also change with every program. You manually create a new prelim/TY list from scratch with every derm rank, so you can change it as you see fit (for example, if you match on the west coast for derm, you can try to match at a west coast prelim. and, if you were to match at Penn, you can try to maximize your chances of getting a prelim in Philly, etc)
Feb 21
0
oh my god i'm gonna have to make an anki card out of this
Feb 21
0
Also confused - do you only partial match a TY/Prelim if thats all you put? For example, if my list is: derm1+TY1, derm1+TY2, is it still possible to ONLY match partially to the prelim or do i explicitly have to rank TY1/TY2 independently without derm? I am also a dual app so how would I fall down to my second specialty at that rate?
Feb 21
0
if you want the option of still matching at a pgy 1 ONLY in the event that you don't match derm, you have to rank the prelims/TYs. You won't automatically match at one without ranking it. You can rank them in any order
Feb 21
0
Thanks to those of you who explained this..you did a better job than my school
Feb 21
0
you guys are awesome for answering thank you so much!!!
Feb 21
0
oh goodness i have no idea what's going on
Mar 7
0
no. Each derm rank counts as its own mini "rank list". Let's say Penn is your number one derm program. You would rank Penn + TY 1, Penn + Ty2, and Penn + TY 3, as your "number one". It's like having your ranks as 1.1, 1.2, 1.3. I hope this makes sense? It's hard to put it into words
Mar 7
0
yes!! that makes sense thank you!
Mar 7
0
sure thing! your prelim/TY rank list can also change with every program. You manually create a new prelim/TY list from scratch with every derm rank, so you can change it as you see fit (for example, if you match on the west coast for derm, you can try to match at a west coast prelim. and, if you were to match at Penn, you can try to maximize your chances of getting a prelim in Philly, etc)
Mar 7
0
oh my god i'm gonna have to make an anki card out of this
Mar 7
0
if you want the option of still matching at a pgy 1 ONLY in the event that you don't match derm, you have to rank the prelims/TYs. You won't automatically match at one without ranking it. You can rank them in any order
Mar 7
0
Thanks to those of you who explained this..you did a better job than my school
Mar 7
0
0
Penn interview was so beyond ridiculous. You can tell they don't feel like they have to try to win us over because they are highly ranked. Truly got the nastiest vibes from them today. Dropped to bottom of my list.
wait what happened bc I thought the vibes were fine?
Feb 21
0
Not OP but they literally were challenging my interests
Feb 21
0
lol interesting also happened to me a couple weeks back
Feb 21
0
I'm so glad people share on here bc I also thought it was rough
Feb 21
0
I thought it was okay? Different vibes in different rooms but overall I thought it was fair
Feb 21
1
most were fair except 1 room
Feb 21
0
i had 1 room that challenged something i said, but otherwise normal too. wondering if the same room?
Feb 21
0
> are there any programs that have horrible training or not the greatest training? askig for both academic and community programs
Feb 21
0
UConn> guys what is wrong with uconn i cant find the tea
Feb 21
0
I actually think UConn has an amazing program as someone who rotated there. They're catching a lot of heat this year but their attendings and education are top notch
Feb 21
0
their overall education is fine i think its just the way the program has protrayed itself this year (likely to aways on the sheet) has been less than fortunate.
Feb 21
0
guys these memes are funny keep them coming
Feb 21
0
UConn> guys what is wrong with uconn i cant find the tea
Mar 7
0
I actually think UConn has an amazing program as someone who rotated there. They're catching a lot of heat this year but their attendings and education are top notch
Mar 7
0
their overall education is fine i think its just the way the program has protrayed itself this year (likely to aways on the sheet) has been less than fortunate.
Mar 7
0
0
for those of you who interviewed for Penn's community engagement track, did you have separate interview rooms/meet faculties for that track or just regular 6 interview rooms?
If i had a nickel for every time the words UConn or Penn Community engagement track popped up on this page i wouldn't even need derm salary anymore
Feb 21
0
same 6 rooms!
Feb 21
0
0
i was scrolling and noticed that there are a number of posts that mention how stanford is "not prestigious" and "not really a t5" with no comments to back that up and the postiive post about stanford vs ucsf got deleted. im not saying these patterns are shady, but im not not saying it. and yes, i can read doximity, but the point stands.
Stanford has an unmatched brand name and is, non-negotiably, a top program. Anyone who tries to convince you not to go there likely has ill intentions
Feb 21
0
agreed. same with UCSF, Penn, NYU, Harvard, etc.
Feb 21
0
the person was asking Stanford vs ucsf and others commented they'll be ranking Stanford over ucsf. Felt like several people said that
Feb 21
0
I think patterns are very shady, OP. haha.
Feb 21
0
lmao
Feb 21
0
imagine being in the position to get to choose ucsf or stanford COULDNT BE ME must be nice
Feb 21
0
A lot of mental masturbation and obsession over what the top programs are and comparing them. As a derm resident, I will say to be grateful if you match anywhere and be extra grateful if you match at one of your top choices/place you really liked + 10002
Feb 21
0
0
Mentors said to avoid places with interim chairs or new chairs since their influence on a program is unpredictable and its better to go a place without turbulence. Do yall agree?
reasoning makes sense. You don't know what they'll change.
Feb 21
0
I think it's a yellow flag for a program for the same reason, especially if the interim chair is from a different department too...
Feb 21
0
>I'm looking at you Duke.
Feb 21
2
penn also getting a new chair
Feb 21
0
a really amazing one. I wouldn't make your decision based on that
Feb 21
0
penn chair is absolutely a positive
Feb 21
0
penn also getting a new chair
Mar 7
0
a really amazing one. I wouldn't make your decision based on that
Mar 7
0
penn chair is absolutely a positive
Mar 7
0
0
does anyone know what programs typically fall far down on their rank list? and how far we can expect? like if a place has 3 spots, some programs interview upwards of 70... does that mean they fall down their list? as opposed to place with 4 spots interviewing 40...
program specific, but generally yes. unclear why penn interviewed so many this year, though, so likely some exceptions to this rule
Feb 21
0
how many did penn interview
Feb 21
1
70 allegedly? (per their intro spiel) but could be fake news
Feb 21
0
their website says 48-60, but still a lot
Feb 21
0
yale also interviews around 60 for 6 positions, but doubt these programs fall far on the list..
Feb 21
0
stony brook with 50-70 for 3 is crazy too!
Feb 21
0
seems fairly standard for programs to interview 10 candidates for each residency spot
Feb 21
0
0
I found it interesting that Penn really emphasized the people being a program strength in their introduction, but I didn't really feel that reflected in all of my interviews. Anyone else feeling similarly? Wanted to love it but just... didn't?
Harder than others. They clearly read the apps were trying to understand goals and aspiration. def a few answers I wasnt the happiest about but can't change that now. Overall very nice people.
Feb 21
2
the questions were hard in what way?
Feb 21
0
the questions were hard in what way?
Mar 7
0
Some posts are shown because their comments mention this program.
Whered u interview is the real question for this